COLLISION THEORY OF

REACTION RATES
COLLISION THEORY OF REACTION RATES
• In order to explain the effect of temperature on reaction rates, a
theory known as Collision Theory of Reaction Rate was proposed. The
salient features of this theory are as follows.
(i) A reaction occurs only when the reactant molecules encounter
together, i.e., undergo collisions with one another.
(ii) All collisions between the reacting molecules are not effective in
producing a chemical change. Only a fraction of total number of
collisions are and lead to a reaction resulting in the formation of
products.
 (iii) The collisions between the reacting molecules are effective only when they
acquire a definite amount of energy. The minimum amount of energy which must
be possessed by the reacting molecules to make effective collisions is called
threshold energy.
Effective collisions are those collisions which lead to the formation of products. The
number of effective collisions are governed by the following two factors.
Threshold energy :collisions between two reacting molecules will be effective and
will lead to the formation of products only when they possess energy greater than
or equal to the threshold energy.

The minimum energy needed to

convert a reactant into product is
called threshold energy.
It is the minimum amount of energy
possessed by reacting molecules, in
order to have effective collisions for
the formation of product.
Orientation barrier : The reactant molecules must collide with
favourable orientation in order to facilitate the breaking of old bonds
and formation of new bonds. The correct orientation ensures direct
contact between the atoms of the molecules involved in collisions and
makes collisions effective.
Exothermic and endothermic reactions
Exothermic reactions : The chemical reactions which proceed with the
evolution of heat energy are termed as exothermic reactions.
The amount of heat evolved in the reaction is represented by
mentioning the actual numerical value along with the products.

1
H2(g) + O2(g) H20(g) + 247.0 kJ
2

1
C(s) + O2(g) CO2(g) + 394.8 kJ
2
The enthalpy change in a chemical reaction is equal to the difference in the
enthalpies of products and reactants.
Since enthalpy represents the heat content of a substance and energy remains
conserved, the evolution of heat in a reaction is possible only when the enthalpy of
the reactants is more than that of products, i.e., for an exothermic reaction,
H reactants > H products
or HR > HP
Therefore, for an exothermic reaction, we have
∆H = Hp –Hr = a negative quantity

1
H2(g) + O2(g) H20(g) ; ∆H= -247.0 kJ
2

1
C(s) + O2(g) CO2(g) ; ∆H= -394.8 kJ
2
Endothermic reactions
The chemical reactions which proceed with the absorption of heat
energy are called endothermic reactions.
The heat absorbed in such a reaction is expressed by mentioning the
actual value with a negative sign along with products.
For example,

2C(s) H2(g) → C2H2(g) - 222.5 kJ

N2(g) + 202(g) → 2NO2(g) - 67.8 kJ
When an endothermic reaction is carried out at constant temperature
and pressure, the heat absorbed is expressed in terms of ∆H.
The absorption of heat in a reaction is possible only when the enthalpy
of products is more than that of reactants, i.e.,
H products > H reactants
H p > HR
Since, ∆H = Hp - HR,
the change in enthalpy for an endothermic reaction is always positive.
2C(s) H2(g) → C2H2(g) ∆H= +222.5 kJ
N2(g) + 202(g) → 2NO2(g) ∆H= +67.8 kJ
Activation Energy
• Activation energy is the minimum amount of additional external energy needed
to convert a reactant into product, or to make potential energy of the reactant
equal to the threshold energy.
• It is denoted by Ea.
• Ea = Threshold energy – Potential energy of reactants or Average kinetic energy of
reactants
1
• Rate of Reaction 𝛼𝛼
Ea
• Hence, lower the activation energy,
faster will be the rate of reaction.
Arrehenius Equation
• Arrehenius equation is used to evaluate energy of activation and to
show the effect of temperature on rate constant as follows:

Here A is the Arrhenius or pre-exponential factor or frequency factor.

Here e–EaRT is known as Boltzmann factor.
Calculation of activation energy
Following two methods may be used for calculating the activation
energy of a reaction:
(i) Graphical method :
The slope of line is related to the activation energy of the reaction as
follow:
(ii) Rate constant method :
If k1 and k2 are the rate constants measured at temperatures T1 and T2
respectively; we have
Example
If the rate constant for a reaction is 1.6 x 10-5 and 6.36 x 10-3 s-1 at 600K
and 700 K respectively, calculate the energy of activation for the reaction.
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